Where to drink beer in September

New Belgium’s Liquid Center deck in Asheville, North Carolina; courtesy of New Belgium

Finally, September! An appropriate time to clear the Berliner weisses from the fridge and replace them with märzens, pumpkin beers and bocks. It’s also the pinnacle of beer festival season in a lot of locales, so we hope you have some beer money saved up to hit these events.

New Belgium tours, Asheville, North Carolina: Known for its awesome tour at the brewery’s original Fort Collins location, New Belgium will now offer tours at its new Asheville facility beginning September 2. Free tours will run daily every half hour, and booking a reservation is highly recommended. Let us reiterate: Highly recommended. New Belgium estimates it will host 200,000 visitors on tours this year between its two locations.

Historic Odessa Brewfest, Odessa, Delaware: On Saturday, September 10, sip beer from the likes of RaR Brewing, Firestone Walker, 21st Amendment, Stoudts and many more on the historic grounds of the Wilson-Warner House. Tickets are $50 for general admission; $70 for VIP and include unlimited beer samples and live music. Proceeds benefit the Historic Odessa Foundation.

Schilling Oktoberfest and Third Anniversary Party, Littleton, New Hampshire: Schilling’s Bavarian and Czech-style lagers take center stage on Saturday, September 24, at this combo anniversary party/Oktoberfest. The brewery will host live bands, and local meat purveyors will take on grilling duties. The event runs from noon-11 p.m., and admission is free. Keep an eye on Schilling’s website for more info.

Brew PA Pennsylvania Brewers Festival, Tannersville, Pennsylvania: This inaugural festival sets up shop at Camelback Resort in the Pocono Mountains on Saturday and Sunday September 10-11, bringing together 150 beers from almost 50 in-state breweries. There’s also a judged competition for award medals in 12 beer categories, plus a brewers’ dinner, tap takeovers on Camelback’s mountains, an indoor water park party and more. General admission tickets start at $57 with additional add-on events costing extra. See the ticket options and purchase them at the event website.

Courtesy of Night Shift Brewing

Night Shift Oktoberfest, Everett, Massachusetts: Night Shift brewers will whip up at least six German beer recipes for a beer garden party on Saturday, September 24, including a hefeweizen, pilsner, zwickelbier, Munich dunkel, grätzer and doppelbock. Expect lederhosen-clad bartenders, beer steins, German-themed stickers, live music and food. RSVP and find more information via the event’s Facebook page.

Hood River Hops Festival, Hood River, Oregon: On Saturday, September 24, Hood River welcomes back its popular, 13th annual celebration of freshly hopped beers. More than three dozen breweries from the Pacific Northwest including Double Mountain Brewery, Full Sail Brewing and pFriem Family Brewers will pour approximately 60 beers made with newly harvested, peak-of-freshness hops. Tickets are $15 and include a tasting glass and five 3.5-ounce pours; buy them via merctickets.com.

Copenhagen Beer & Music Celebration, Boston, Massachusetts: The Copenhagen portion of this event’s title refers to the provenance of co-organizer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø (of Mikkeler fame); he’s rounded up his brewing friends from around the world and brought the festival to the U.S. for the first time on September 23-24. Attending breweries include darlings like Arizona Wilderness, Bagby, Cellarmaker, Cycle, Omnipollo and many more. Tickets for individual sessions start at $40 and can be purchased via the event’s website.

Sun King CANvitational, Indianapolis, Indiana: The Midwest’s largest canned beer festival (with approximately 65 participating breweries) returns to Indy on Saturday, September 10, and will feature canned beers from dozens of breweries not normally available in the Hoosier State, including 4 Hands, Pizza Port, DC Brau, Cigar City, Madtree, Melvin and more. Tickets range from $50-$75 and can be purchased via TicketFly.

Wicked Weed Pickin’ & Pullin’ Pumpkin Beer Release, Asheville, North Carolina: Wicked Weed releases its pumpkin brew September 10 with a party in the parking lot of the Funkatorium location. Expect whole-hog barbecue from 12 Bones and live bluegrass music.

It’s Always Sunny in East Bayside, Portland, Maine: Portland’s Rising Tide brewery takes over 15 taps at Novare Res (a Top 100 Beer Bar many years running) on Saturday, September 3. Those 15 taps include a special release of Nightmark, a rye black double IPA brewed in collaboration with the bar. Find out more via this video from Rising Tide.

Bruery Terreux’s new taproom; photo by Jenn Infanto

The Bruery Terreux Tasting Room, Anaheim, California: Open since July, The Bruery’s anticipated taproom dedicated to wild and sour beers is now open in Anaheim, just a few miles from The Bruery’s other tasting room. Expect 24 taps of Bruery Terreux beer, plus indoor communal tables and an outdoor patio at which to enjoy them.

Dogfish Head Analog-A-Go-Go, Wilmington, Delaware: Back for a sixth year, Dogfish Head’s music and cask beer (and spirits, and crafts, and food truck…) festival goes down on Saturday, September 17, at Bellevue State Park. This year, Talib Kweli, Built to Spill, Preservation Hall Brass Band, Beach Slang and fiancé headline; also look for cask beers from Allagash, Sierra Nevada, Shorts, Funky Buddha, Iron Hill and more. Tickets start at $75 and are available online or at the festival.

Brewery Vivant’s 6th Annual Wood-Aged Beer Festival, Grand Rapids, Michigan: More than 20 wood-aged and wild beers will pour at Brewery Vivant’s annual festival, which goes down this year on Saturday, September 17. Beers range from light to dark, sweet to sour, and rest in wood from bourbon barrels, wine barrels, scotch barrels to cognac foeders and more. Tickets are $35 ($40 day-of, if tickets remain) and include 10 tasting tokens (also valid for food) and a collector’s tasting glass. Purchase them via Brown Paper Tickets.

Beerhaus’ Oktoberfest at the Park, Las Vegas, Nevada: Beginning Friday, September 30, and continuing through Sunday, October 2, Vegas’ new Beerhaus beer garden near T-Mobile Field will celebrate Oktoberfest beginning at 4 p.m. daily. Each night will kick off with a celebrity keg tapping followed by live music from local band The Dummkopfs. Guests can select commemorative half- or full-liter steins of beer, plus German food, drinking games and more. Find more details at Beerhaus’ website.

RiNo Oktoberfest, Denver, Colorado: Denver’s brewery-packed River North neighborhood throws its own Oktoberfest on Saturday, September 24 with participation from breweries including Great Divide, Ratio, Our Mutual Friend, Zephyr, Black Shirt and many more. A $20 ticket gets you entry, a 0,5l mug, one liter of beer and includes a donation to the RINO Art District. Purchase tickets online.

3 Comments

North Carolina might be considered southern to some but I meant more along the lines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. As someone living on the Gulf of Mexico not having a single suggestion within a 10 hr radius was a bit surprising.